FOIA Sourcing: Cuban Intervention in Angola By Lauren Harper

In November 1975 while Angola was battling for independence and internal and external forces were competing for primacy, Cuban forces militarily intervened in support of the leftist MPLA movement and against US-supported movements.“By the end of 1975 the Cuban military in Angola numbered more than 25,000 troops. Following the retreat of Zaire and South Africa, Cuban forces remained in Angola to support the MPLA government against UNITA in the continuing Angolan Civil War.” Cuban forces intervened again in 1988, leading to the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, and “[t]his turn of events is considered to have been the major impetus to the success of the ongoing peace talks leading to the New York Accords, the agreement by which Cuban and South African forces withdrew from Angola while South West Africa gained its independence from South Africa. Cuban military engagement in Angola ended in 1991.”

For over 25 years the Archive has been submitting targeted FOIA requests to federal agencies to learn more about Cuban intervention in Angola, and the collection of documents posted below have been our reward. Please take a look at the documents for yourself!

[This posting is part of an ongoing crowdsourcing initiative where we will provide documents newly-released through the Freedom of Information Act to the public, and give you the first crack at the documents so you can tell us what is significant about them. Please enjoy!]